Bluebells are protected?

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Chris

Life Member
Staff member
Sep 20, 2022
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Somerset, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire
Be honest… who else knew?

It’s entirely possible that I am just dense, but I had no idea. They grow so abundantly from whence I hail, it didn’t even occur to me to check.

Every day’s a school day.
 
Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are protected but Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) aren't. They're actually considered an invasive species and as such there's legislation in place to control and prevent their spread.

The problem is telling them apart so you know which one you have.
 
Our bluebells have been strictly segregated into different beds which are patrolled by my wife. No hybridising on HER watch!!

Protected or not, both are lined up, thinned and given away when occasion arises and generally instructed to behave!
 
Oddly enough I did know this, and that the flowers all on one side of the stem is a sign of a Fine and Upstanding native bluebell. Why this particular shred of knowledge floats about in my usual sea of ignorance, I know not. I shall repair to the fungi thread and return to my customary confused state.
 
Most wild plants are protected from being uprooted without permission from the landowner. Although Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are specifically protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, landowners and permitted persons can pick and uproot them.
 
As a land owner I gather I can dig them up and bin them but not sell them? Can I give them away? The natives grow like weeds here, woodland is carpeted in them and they are rapidly spreading into our fields.
 
As a land owner I gather I can dig them up and bin them but not sell them? Can I give them away? The natives grow like weeds here, woodland is carpeted in them and they are rapidly spreading into our fields.

I'm not convinced that is true (but, I may be wrong); there are plenty of nurseries (landowners) that sell native bluebells from 'grown' stock.
 

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